Tess Braithwaite, the youngest daughter of Ernest Braithwaite and his wife Madeleine, is the main character in this story of the brutal assault of this young girl and her revenge twenty-five years later. In the 1950s and '60s, the Braithwaite's with their five children, live at Mill Cottage on the outskirts of the small village of Danby in Dorset England. The family struggles to survive, as modern technology takes over and eventually strips Ernest of his livelihood at the flour mill attached to his property., At that time, Tess is a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl, who befriends another girl her age, Matilda Hodge, who a completely opposite personality. Matilda lives at the old riding stables on the Ryecroft Estate with her mother Flora, house-keeper to the boss, Henry Bradshaw.Matilda's loose behaviour with the young stable workers lands her in trouble with the boss, which ultimately leads to Tess and Matilda friendship failing. Although Matilda's jealousy did not cause the devastating circumstance in Tess's young life, her lifestyle certainly contributed to it. Tess then becomes introverted and leaves home, to live with an aunt in a nearby village, but eventually leaves England altogether, for a life in Australia, with her eldest sister Sarah and her husband Rob, who migrated there earlier. Tess's life flourishes after that and she goes on the achieve her goal of becoming a lawyer, although her two failed marriages, she attributes to her past forebodings.After twenty-five years of living in Western Australia, a letter from her youngest brother Timmy brings her back to England. Tess's father Ernest has died and she wants to return for his funeral, but there is another agenda she is now ready to deal with, the one she left behind.While back at home, Tess also re-kindles her friendship with Matilda Hodge, whom she believes is the key to solving it. Matilda has not had a fruitful life like her own, apart from producing her daughter Janie, whose father Joe Mullen, is now Matilda's ex-partner. He has spent the last five years in jail on serious assault charges. and without him in her life, Matilda has turned her own around, or so it seems. Tess is trying to deal with a dark secret from her past but is thwarted by Matilda, who has her own agenda, that is not ethical in Tess's world. Tess's older sister Amelia, who has also experienced much anxiety, to ensure Tess reached her goals in life, has also kept a secret of her own from Tess, involving her past. Now that she has returned, she is hell-bent on releasing it to Tess, when the perpetrator who took Tess's young innocence, is brought to justice. Will evidence bring the sisters peace from their torments, or will natural justice take its own course? Read the whole story and find out.